Tillerson issues ultimatum to Russia

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday said that Russia can choose to be part of the G-7 solution or continue to support Bashar al-Assad’s murderous regime.

“We want to relieve the suffering of the Syrian people,” said Tillerson. “Russia can be a part of that future and play an important role, or Russia can maintain its alliance with this group, which we believe is not going to serve Russia’s interests longer term. We cannot let this happen again.”

Tillerson is traveling to Russia where he will implore Russia’s leaders to stop supporting Assad after he failed to get rid of chemical weapons in Syria, as was previously promised.

“It is clear to all of us that the reign of the Assad family is coming to an end,” said Tillerson, adding, “But the question of how that ends and the transition itself could be very important, in our view, to the durability, the stability inside of a unified Syria.”

In a summit of like-minded countries, the “Group of 7” was joined by other diplomats from middle eastern countries, including Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. According to a report from Fox News, including middle eastern countries in the talks is a strategic way to keep Syria stable and secure after ISIS is defeated.

U.S. officials, including Tillerson, have acted with urgency regarding the Syrian crisis, but they have so far failed to make a plan to oust Assad, and they don’t seem to have a strategy to protect displaced Syrians. It’s also unclear whether or not the U.S. should take further action.

“We rededicate ourselves to holding to account any and all who commit crimes against the innocents anywhere in the world,” Tillerson said on Monday as he visited the site of a Nazi massacre in Italy where more than 500 civilians were slaughtered during World War II.

Prior to the Syrian gas attack, Trump’s administration had suggested that Assad’s future was up to the Syrian people. However, Trump abruptly changed his mind the day after the attack on Syrian civilians, and he may be considering affecting a regime change in Syria.

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